Good day. Wife and I took down 4X4 backsplash tiles in our kitchen. No major damage to the drywall, ie holes, but one can see the brown paper. And of course its a bit uneven in some areas. had 1 guy that does tile come by and said it was not a problem, he could just tile over the brown paper, simple as that. He installs tile for a living. Had another fellow come by who is a general contractor and advised against of just tiling over it. He advised putting in all new drywall. Who is correct? With just the brown paper, does that provide enough holding power? As well we will be installing granite counter tops, new dishwasher and above range microwave, and no were not made of $$, just trying to upgrade a few things and make our condo unit different from others in our complex in prep to sel lin 2-3 yrs time. Many thanks for the help.

I guess everyone differs!! As stated earlier, 1 guy that does tile said it was no prob, a general contractor stated i was crazy to tile over it. Then talked to another fine fellow that specializes in tile, but lives too far away said tiling over the brown paper should be fine!! Decisions decisions!! First guy said he would gaurentee his work for up to 5 yrs, and we plan to be well gone by then. Again, many thanks for taking time to reply, I appreciate it.

Flames,
What you need to tile is a flat surface with no rippling or lows and highs. The texture of the surface is not as important as it's flatness. If you fill in those divits and can get a flat surface you should be good to go.. Check and see how straight and flat the surface is.. You need to determine whether it's flat enough to tile.. The flatter it is the better the install will look...
You ask someone how to build a tree house - yer gonna get different answers but the results will be the same...
There are no incorrect answers above, just preferences...

I'd seal it with Kilz or some other non water based fast dry primer and set tiles over it. The sealer will keep the paper from delaminating further with the moisture from thinset or mastic. As long as there are no breaks in the board you should be fine- I do this all the time for kitchen jobs. Blowout patches for any holes and or breaks of the core and then tile away.

a better sealer is Gardz. made specifically for sealing the paper damaged like this and prevent further bubbling and delamination. But that's really more commonly used to prep for mud and paint. I'm really more with the crowd that says just thinset and be done.

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